Men's Crew

Brown 3V8 and V4 Victorious in Home Dual Against Harvard in Battle for Stein Cup

Apr 07, 2012

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Brown men's crew met perennial Ivy League rival Harvard on their home course on the Seekonk River on Saturday morning in another hotly contested battle for the Stein Cup. Under sunny skies and increasing tailwinds, the Bears found mixed success against their crimson counterparts with two of Brown's six crews winning their race in some tough racing conditions.

After an unsuccessful race by the Brown second freshmen eight, Bruno found its first victory in a convincing manner over the Harvard third varsity by a large margin. The following JV crew was not as successful and despite a late race charge, they proved to be too far behind, finishing just over a boat length behind.

In the 3V race, Brown led by over a length in the last 300 meters of the race when Harvard hit an object in the water and bent their skeg. Harvard had to stop rowing and finished far behind Bruno after an competitive early race.

In the highlight race contesting retention of the Stein Cup, the Brown varsity crew saw itself at an early deficit of six seats in the first 500 meters of the race. The Bears hung on tenaciously through to the finish line, clawing their way back to just a decking behind Harvard.

In the varsity race, Brown pulled level with approximately 700 meters to go. The race was seat for seat the rest of the way, very close racing and Harvard was able to just push their bow ahead at the end.

The next race between the first freshmen eights saw Harvard finish ahead by an even six seconds and showed that the young Bears have been working hard to make up time on their opponents since they last faced off in Boston last November.

The final race of the day saw Brown victorious again in the duel of the fourth varsity crews with Brown rowing a hard first thousand and handling the rougher conditions well.

While Harvard retains the Stein Cup for another year, Brown's oarsmen gained valuable racing experience and will be prepared for their next meeting in Worcester this May. Brown now looks to face off in Boston next weekend against the Northeastern Huskies on the Charles River.